VOA标准英语2011--Obama Signs Compromise Debt Ceiling Bill

Obama Signs Compromise Debt Ceiling Bill

President Barack Obama has signed legislation Tuesday to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, averting¹ a potential government default only hours before the deadline. The president called the bill an important first step toward fiscal² responsibility.
The president's signature on the legislation defuses what might have been a far-reaching crisis for the U.S. economy.
Minutes after the Senate passed the bill by a of vote of 74 to 26, Obama told reporters at the White House that the process of reducing the government's deficit³ has begun.
"This compromise guarantees more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction," said Obama. "It is an important first step to insuring that, as a nation, we live within our means."
The new law immediately allowed the Treasury⁴ to borrow an additional $400 billion, with more borrowing allowed later. It is also intended to reduce the nation's $14.3 trillion deficit by at least $2.1 trillion over 10 years. The House of Representatives passed the bill on Monday by a vote of 269 to 161, after weeks of intense debate.
Under the bill, a bipartisan committee in Congress will work to find further savings⁵ in federal budgets.
The president said the agreement requires that both major political parties work together on a larger plan to cut the federal budget deficit, which he said is important for the long-term health of the U.S. economy.
Obama said that plan would need to include cuts to social programs - a move that many Democrats⁷ oppose - and higher taxes - which many Republicans reject. Neither option was included in the compromise legislation.
"Yes, that means making some adjustments to protect health care programs like Medicare, so they are there for future generations," Obama added. "It also means reforming our tax code, so that the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations pay their fair share."
In addition, lawmakers will also consider a constitutional amendment⁸ requiring the government to balance its budget.
Republican Senator John Barrasso said such an amendment would prevent another debt crisis.
"The question is, 'Are we going to be living by the same rules that apply to every family, every small business and 49 states, which is, that they cannot spend more money than they have?'" asked Barrasso.
Obama angrily denounced lawmakers for allowing the debt debate to linger until hours before the default deadline. He said a "manufactured crisis" in Washington has hurt the struggling U.S. economy.
"That was in our hands," Obama said. "It is pretty likely that the uncertainty⁹ surrounding the raising of the debt ceiling, for both businesses and consumers, has been unsettling and just one more impediment to the full recovery that we need. And it was something that we could have avoided entirely¹⁰."
The president said it should not take the risk of "economic catastrophe¹¹" to force lawmakers to work together and do their jobs. He said the priority now is for Democrats and Republicans to focus on creating jobs and reviving the U.S. economy.
The top House Democrat⁶, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, agreed that lawmakers must immediately turn their attention to economic recovery.
"Yesterday we crossed a bridge," said Pelosi. "Enough talk about the debt. We have to talk about jobs."
Obama called on Congress to pass numerous bills that he said would strengthen the economy, including approving free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

1 averting   

防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• The margin of time for averting crisis was melting away. 可以用来消弥这一危机的些许时光正在逝去。
• These results underscore the value of rescue medications in averting psychotic relapse. 这些结果显示了救护性治疗对避免精神病复发的价值。

2 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。